Auburn softball dropped a pair of four-run games to No. 4 Tennessee this weekend, and looked to show fight on Sunday in hopes of earning a win in the series.
The Tigers struck first in the 1st inning, and added insurance runs in the 6th inning to clinch a Sunday victory, defeating the Lady Vols, 4-1 at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.
In addition to Auburn’s clutch hitting, [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] was a force in the circle. In a complete game effort, Penta struck out seven batters while allowing a run on five hits. Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] knows that Tennessee’s bats are lethal, and commends Penta’s strong effort in the win.
“(Tennessee’s) hitters are like piranhas… If they get off to a good start, it’s going to be a long game,” Dean said. I thought Maddie (Penta) and our defense did a nice job in those first three innings and then you threw the two runs on top. It kind of kept them in a lull. It took us seven innings, but in that last inning, we got that insurance. We had that big defensive play in right field. We work on this stuff all the time. That was key to winning the ball game.”
Auburn set the tone of the game early by scoring two runs in the 1st inning. After Penta retired the side in order in the top half of the inning, two runs scored in the bottom frame on an infield single by Icess Tresvik, which resulted in an error on Tennessee shortstop Laura Mealer.
The Lady Vols answered in the top of the 4th inning thanks to an RBI single by Taylor Pannell, but momentum would be erased in the 6th with an RBI triple by Nelia Peralta and an RBI single by Amelia Lech.
The win is the 700th of Dean’s collegiate career, it also snapped a 20-game Tennessee win streak.
The Tigers return to Jane B. Moore Field on Wednesday to face in-state foe Samford. First pitch between the Tigers and Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Don't call it an upset. We aren't upset 😏#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/qelkrOznp6
— Auburn Softball (@AuburnSoftball) March 31, 2024
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